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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee disagreed sharply over changes to Social Security and other entitlements. Christie argues that fiscal realities make cutbacks inevitable, while Huckabee has insisted that the safety net for the elderly must be preserved. ... The Republicans voiced outrage over recently surfaced clandestine videos of Planned Parenthood employees discussing the harvesting of organs from aborted fetuses. ... The Fox moderators put [former Florida Gov. Jeb] Bush on the defensive over his role on the board of former New York mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s charitable foundation, which supported Planned Parenthood. ... [Ohio Gov. John] Kasich, a recent entrant into the race, sought to make the most of his turn on the main debate stage. He delivered impassioned defenses of his expansion of Medicaid in Ohio to help lift up the poor as well as on gay rights. (Tumulty and Rucker, 8/6)

The result was a two-hour debate that underscored just how unwieldy the GOP primary campaign will be, despite the party leadership’s efforts to make the process more orderly and less damaging to the eventual nominee than 2012. ... At points throughout the night, Mr. Trump was forced to defend the number of times he has filed for bankruptcy, his support for government-funded, universal health insurance and the donations he has given to Mrs. Clinton and her family’s foundation. (O'Connor, Hook and Ballhaus, 8/7)

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who had been seen as the party’s most likely nominee earlier in the campaign, sought to regain his footing after comments on immigration, women’s health and the Iraq war that had made him a target from both the left and right. ... Over two hours, the candidates were quizzed on prominent issues including the fight against the Islamic State and the Iran nuclear deal reached last month, as well as the recent controversy over funding Planned Parenthood, same-sex marriage, healthcare and the economy. The candidates’ jabs at one another were sometimes veiled ones, while others directed at the president and Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton more blunt. (Mascaro, Mehta and Memoli, 8/6)

BUSH: "You get rid of Obamacare and replace it with something that doesn't suppress wages and kill jobs." THE FACTS: According to the Labor Department, the unemployment rate was 9.9 percent in March 2010, when Obama signed the Affordable Care Act. In June of this year, it had fallen to 5.3 percent. The economy has added more than 12 million jobs since March 2010. While the health care law doesn't seem to have had a major impact on jobs, some lesser consequences are likely. The Congressional Budget Office projected that having government subsidized health insurance will prompt some people to leave the labor market, since they can get coverage without a job. And although Republicans may be able to repeal Obama's law, it's unclear if and how they would replace it. (Lederman, 8/7)

Abortion laws, and the videos an anti-abortion group recently released attacking Planned Parenthood, also took center stage, with the candidates trying to one-up one another in their quest to take the toughest stand. (Wildermuth, 8/6)

JOHN KASICH’S HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE ... The Ohio governor barely cracked the top 10 field, but the home-state setting played to his advantage. Kasich, who has battled image problems about his temper, offered a compassionate conservative stance defending his expansion of Medicaid and acceptance of gay marriage as the law of the land. (Davis, 8/7)

Hillary Clinton brought her presidential campaign to Los Angeles on Thursday, telling home healthcare workers that she wants to improve their working conditions, training and wages so more people can remain at home as they age. Clinton met with eight women, all of whom had either worked in home healthcare or hired someone for care-giving, for a round table discussion at Los Angeles Trade Technical College. (Karlamangla, 8/6)